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ARE YOU USABLE TO JESUS? IF WE WANT TO BE USED WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED. DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME JESUS MINISTERED IN JERUSALEM WHERE THE MULTITUDES BELIEVED ON HIM WHEN THEY SAW THE MIRACLES HE HAD PERFORMED? WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME TO GET THE PEOPLE TO GO OUT AND START SPREADING HIS GOSPEL? JESUS DIDN'T THINK SO. SEE WHAT IT SAYS IN JOHN 2:23-24 "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, i n the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men." HE DIDN'T WANT THE PEOPLE PROCLAIMING...
God Still Performs Miracles
Mark 16:20 'And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.'
The Lord confirmed the preaching of His Word with miracles. If Jesus and the first century Christians needed the Word confirmed with the miraculous (Heb. 2:4), then we do too. There is no scripture that says these miraculous signs have passed away.
Some people have interpreted 'that which is perfect' in 1 Corinthians 13:10, as being the complete Bible. This has led them to believe that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. Although God's Word is perfect (Ps. 19:7), it is not the 'perfect thing' that is...
Use Your Delegated Authority
Mark 16:18 'They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.'
This either speaks literally of supernatural protection if we pick up a snake, or symbolically of protection in our fight against the devil. Since the other four signs in this list are literal, it is most probable that this means physically taking up snakes.
The apostle Paul experienced this supernatural protection from a viper when he was shipwrecked on the island of Melita (Acts 28:3-5). However, this is the only recorded example of this type of protection in the New Testament.
...HAVE YOU EVER REALIZED HOW MUCH POWER IS IN EITHER THE SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORD? WORDS REALLY ARE POWERFUL. JESUS SAYS IN MATTHEW 12:34-37 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall giv e account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." WE HAVE TO WATCH WHAT WE SAY THAT OUR WORDS ARE NOT IDLE...
THE SIN OF " Thou shalt not kill " IS ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS JUST AS IS " shalt not bear false witness ." BOTH ARE SIN. HOWEVER, WE WILL LOVE SOMEONE WHO LIES WHEN THEY ARE A FAMILY MEMBER OR EVEN...
Water Baptism Is An Act Of Faith
Mark 16:16 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.'
This scripture has led many to believe that water baptism is a part of salvation and that the born-again experience cannot be a reality without it.
This same kind of thinking would make seeing Jesus a prerequisite for salvation, based on John 6:40.
It is faith in the redemptive work of Christ that produces salvation - not our actions. However, James writes that faith without works is dead (Jas. 2:20).
Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone; it must be acted upon.
This is what Mark is referring to when...
How To Baptize
Matthew 28:19 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:'
In the same way that this commission is to every believer, not just to ministers, the command to baptize is also for every believer. It is proper for any believer to administer the ordinance of water baptism.
Jesus commands us to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, yet there is no recorded instance where the believers did so. Instead, the instances of baptism that are recorded in the book of Acts, show people being baptized in the name of Jesus only.
Because of this noticeable...
CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THE JEWS THOUGHT WHEN THEY HEARD THE TERM "BORN AGAIN"? WE CAN SEE THIS IN JOHN 3. JESUS USED THE TERM WHEN HE WAS TALKING WI TH NICODEMUS. NICODEMUS WAS A RULER OF THE JEWS AND WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS MAN JESUS SO THE BIBLE SAYS HE CAME TO JESUS BY NIGHT. HE SAID HE KNEW THAT JESUS WAS A TEACHER THAT CAME FROM GOD, OTHERWISE, HOW COULD HE DO THE MIRACLES HE DID. HOWEVER, HE WAS NOT SURE WHAT "BORN AGAIN" MEANT.
IN JOHN 3 :3-7 JESUS TELLS HIM. " Jesus...
DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO DO? IF YOU SAID YES THEN YOU ARE VERY WRONG AND PROBABLY HAVE NEVER READ LUKE 1:37 WHERE IT SAYS "For with God nothing shall be impossible." THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS SOMEONE'S UNBELIEF. THE PERSON YOU ARE MINISTERING TO HAS TO BELIEVE. EVEN JESUS COULD NOT DO ALL THE MIGHTY WORKS HE WANTED TO DO IN HIS OWN COUNTRY AND HOUSE BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE'S UNBELIEF. (MATTHEW 13:57-58 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.)
God Is Good
John 21:25 'And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.'
Every detail of every man's life, who has ever walked on the earth, has not impacted the world as much as the few recorded details of Jesus' life. Jesus was not just a man, He was God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).
In Acts 10:38 Peter gives a very brief, yet descriptive summary of the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus was anointed with power and with the Holy Ghost.
He used this power to do good, not evil. This is one of the main...